The Galveston Daily News. (Galveston, Tex.), Vol. 44, No. 268, Ed. 1 Sunday, January 17, 1886 Page: 10 of 12

                                
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THUCULVESmV DAILY NEWS. SUNDAY, JANUARY 17, 1880.
ODD NEGRO SUPERSTITIONS.
r
-
m
OBSERVATIONS IN OLD MISSISSIPPI.
Universal Belief in Sorcery--How an Educated
Clergyman was " Tricked "--Grave-
yard Robbing.
Uoston tloruld.
" I hain't got no money, but t sjiecs to lmb
n right Kmart heap ob cotton in de fall, alul
1 want to bujr a suit ob do' Ho'my olo man."
The speaker was an old negro woman ad-
dressing the owner o£ a variety store in
Orenada, Mississippi, a town which divided
the honor (or dishonor) of the highest
fleatlTrate in the yellow fever epidemic of
1881 with Shreveport, Louisiana, rt is in
the heart of the cottou belt. I had come
flown to the place from Memphis to make a
little study of negro life in the far south,
mid had drifted into this little shop
ps affording a good post of observa-
tion. It was Saturday night. Negroes
cf all classes and conditions were
buying their Sunday supplies on the
npparently flexible, but really inexorable
system of Southern credit—the system of
the pawn-shop applied to the produce of
the field. Their distinctive characteristics
were immense muscular development, over-
flowing good humor, and clothing whose
tatters and colors were beyond the lan-
guage of mortal man to describe. In this
merry mob, 1 had noticed the old wonmu I
have quoted, fidgeting restlessly among
*<onio empty barrels, waiting her turn to
trade. At last, when her chance came, she
sprang forward with monkey-like ability.
Tested her elbow on the counter, planted
her chin in the palms of her hands, and, in
i\ curiously hollow and unearthly
voice, like it voice from the throat of
«>n animated mummy, which she greatly re-
eenibleri, made her demand with mueh
solemnity and earnestness. "But, aunty,"
Ffliri the shopman,•" your old man has been
dead this ten years, and surely you are not
going to get married again.' Without
moving her body, the old woman rolled her
eyes till she fixed them full on the trader's
face, and then replied with vast dignity:
" Go 1( ng! go long, now! with your foolish-
ness. f specs I knows what I want for Oyn-
tliy! .She done gone say this afternoon
she's gwine to raise my ole man to-morrow
i'rom tlv grave, and I" wants some decant
clo' to' him to wear when folks come rou'n'
to shake him by de lian'."
I will not dwell on the good-natured tast
shown by the shopkeeper in putting aside
aunty's demand, for I had only related the
incident to show how intensely real was the
joint hold of Cynthy and superstition on
the mind of the 'Grenada negro. As I af-
terward learned, this Cynthy was a negress
of great eloquence and some insanity, who
was regarded by nine-tenths of the blacks
in the vicinity in the double light of a con-
jurer mid a prophetess. The negro of the
l'ar South is a strange compound of heredi-
tary pafjan and emotional Christian, and
this complexity of character leads him
blindly and instinctively to follow any
leader who can invest himself or herself
with an atmosphere of
RELIGION AND MYSTERY.
This role Cynthy filled to perfection, lived
it, looked it, was it. In a word, she em-
bodied the genius of her race, intensified
by a little madness, that only added to her
supernatural personality in the eyes of her
followers. She was an old Woman; at any
rate old enough to have so far outlived' the
friends of her youth that her admirers
found it easy to invest her origin in mar-
velous fables without having some envious
«unty rise up to disprove them. Her habits
of lite were odd and uncanny. She lived in
it solitary cabin outside the town, with no
visible means of support. As she could
have levied an unqualified tax on every
mi lire of flour and bacon in a hun-
dred negro cabins, this last par-
loniirUf c does not seem so very super-
natural, but it helped to till the bill of mys-
tery. When tlie came into town she was
alwajs fantastically dressed, and invaria-
bly c« 11 led upon her shoulder a staff decked
with )■,any-colored ribbons. AVhen asked
why sl.e carried this appendage, she would
reply, in an oracular v ay. that she was
beai irg the world on her shoulders. She
was a powerful preacher, and drew vast
i rov ds u believer she spoke in the fields or
cabins. Her discourses contained much
good sense and sound advice, mixed with
.'•on.c fantastic exhortations. One would
have expected her to preach the narrowest
and It'11 est creed,but curi<msly enough,some
of the doctrines sounded much like liberal
Boston laith. For instance,instead of holding
out the terrors of an indiscriminate hell to
all evil-doers, sho carefully insisted on a
graduation of punishments. "If you libs
right > ous will git to lieben': but 'if yous
libs wrong, yous will go to hell sho'; but, if
yous goes'to hell yous will git what yous de-
serve. iio mo', no less, according to de deeds
yous cleue in the body. Now, honeys, don't
iorget that when you feels like cutting up."
It is 1101 hard to' see that a weird, eloquent
old creature of this sort would have' more
or ie - influence 011 any rustic community,
but v. ith the Grenada negro it was absolute-
ly unbounded.
The incident which 1 have related of the
old in gress wanting to buy a suit of clothes
for her husband, whom Cyutlia would raise
from tne dead, was only an illustration of a
ooinnion belief in her power to call depart-
ed darkies back to life. I greatly doubt
whether the shrewd Cyntlia ever laid claim
to such a mighty power, but rumor did it
for her. and the credulous blacks accepted
it without a question.
Another awful gift accorded to Cynthy
by popular belief was her power to cast ah
evil eve. or, as the negroes call it, "to
trick." This curious belief in tricking
meets; the observer of negro character
throughout all tlrfi old slave section, but
becomes more intense and fanatical as one
goes south. To be " tricked," in negro dia-
lect, corresponds very nearly to being be-
witched in the speech of the North. The
" tyicking " applies not only to persons, but
to places and things, and means that
A MA LION INFLUENCE
has been cast by some person more or less
in league with the unseen evil world.
Naturally, this power was accorded to
Cynthy in tlu> highest degree, and added
riot a little to the awe in which she was held.
Quite aside, however, from Cynthy and her
sybilline arts, 1 found numerous evidences
of the faith in this evil spell in many other
quarters.
During my stay in Grenada I had the good
forUu.c to be the guest of a resident, and my
hobtcts called mv attention to numerous
little i rosso- <f wood, rather skillfully de-
signed. that were freely displayed in all the
rooms of her house. She said they had been
put there by her house servant, a remarka-
bly bright and handsome negro boy, win
told her, after the first night he slept un-
der her roof, that the house was
tricked and he could not remain with
her. The lady had the good sense to humor
his whim, and fought fire with fire by sug-
gesting the idea of putting up the crosses to
keep the evil away. The little fellow caught
at the idea and spent the next day indus-
triously making them and putting them up
on the nulls, and thereafter lie rested hap-
pily under their counter spell. There was
one room, however, to which, for some rea-
son, he thought the beneficent influence did
not apply, and nothing could induce him to
remain 'in it alone. My own experience
with this boy were rather amusing. He did
not see me when I arrived, which happened
to be on a Saturday night, nor did he know
that I was expected. Waking much
earlier than the family Sunday morning,
and finding my room rather warm, I
got up, thinking' it a fine idea to take a cool,
early stroll through my host's garden. My
trunks had not overtaken me, and 1 was
obliged to put on the clothes in which I had
arrived, which were partly for traveling
and partly for hunting purposes. Taking
my heavy shooting boots inmyliand, I stole
quietly down the stairs and across the hall
into the garden. Hearing a noise in the
kitchen, and assuming that it was the ser-
vant kindling the fire, I knocked at the door
to ask him to clean my boots. It was
opened by the little chap who made the
crosses, and he was such a handsome, tiny,
charming little " nig" that I stood lost in
admiration, forgetting to tell him what 1
wanted. It soon became pretty evident,
however, that the little fellow was not lost
in admiration of me.
HIS TEETH BEGAN TO CHATTER.
His hands shook, his very lips grew pale,
and when he tried to speak he could not con-
trol his voice. To reassure him, I said that
1 was a friend of the family who had unex-
pectedly arrived the night before, and had
come down to get him to black my boots.
The sound of my voice seemed to relieve
his fear a little, hut he took my boots in
evident distrust, and edged away to another
room as quickly as lie could. I thought my
unexpected appearance and oddest clothes
had led him to suspect me a tramp, just
what a northern boy would have taken me
for under the circumstances, but the point
of the incident was that, with true negro in-
stinct, he had interpreted the unusual into
the supernatural. When my hostess came
down lie rushed frantically' up to her. " 0,
Miss," lie said, "Iwas.makin' de fi'dis
mownin' when somebody knocked at 'e do'.
1 opeded it, an' somebody stood thar in
awfu' queer clo' wid a pair o' boots in his
lian' an' he said he dun come to see you iu
'e night, and asked me to black his "boots,
an' O, Lord! I know I am tricked to' life, for
I'm slio' he was 'e debil hissef," and he
fully believed it.
The terror of "tricking" is not, by any
means, confined to the ignorant among the
blacks. It asserts itself even against the
protest of their intelligence in educated in-
dividuals of the race. 1 was told by a phy-
sician of veracity and standing in Georgia
that once a colored minister, a man of good
sense and much education, came to him and
with great earnestness stated that he wanted
to hire a certain cottage which the doctor
owned. When asked why he was so anxious
to rent that particular house, he replied that
his congregation believed that the step\ of
the cottage had been tricked by an old
woman living in the vicinity, and' that per-
sons crossing them would get snakes in
their legs. I am exceedingly anxious, he
said, to live in that house In order to dis-
prove, by practical illustration, such silly
notions.' The doctor warmly indorsed his
plan and gave him the lease. At the
end of a few weeks the minister
came to him in evident terror. " Doc-
tor," he said, " I know you will think I am
a fool. I moved into your house to show
my poor people how idle it was to believe
in tricking, but now I am tricked myself. I
can feel the snakes moving about my legs."
The doctor reasoned with him, and the min-
ister admitted that, intellectually, he could
see that he was wrong, but, practically, he
c<raid not shake off the terror of the spell.
He was very heroic, however, and said he
would die sooner than leave the house, and
so confirm the superstition to the minds of
his congregation. Matters went on from
bad to worse with him, and finally his dis-
eased imagination so reacted on' his body
Ihat his legs swelled to frightful propor-
tions. He sent for the doctor to lance him
and cut out the snakes. The physician,
thinking that the easiest way to prove the
error, cut open his le». Of course, he
found nothing, but even this did not coun-
teract his fear, and to save his life the doe-
tor ordered him to remove from the house.
In new quarters he shortly became himself
again, but never attempted any more ex-
periments with the superstitions of his
race.
Perhaps as curious a trait of the negroes
as tiny 1 encountered, and one little known
outside the black belt of the far South, is
their feeling about medical students, or as
they call them " student doctors." They
firmly believe that no man can become a
physician of good and regular standing un-
til he lias killed a person or two for dissec-
tion. We all know how deep is the preju-
dice against the-use of a cadaver for dissec-
tion, even in rural districts of the North,
and what wild stories are often circulated
about
THE ROBBING OF GRAVEYARDS
bv medical students. With the negroes this
feeling becomes a madness of fear and ex-
aggeration, and nothing can convince them
that they err in believing that all medical
men must kill more or less victims before
they can take their degree. It is perhaps
with sacl logic that the Mississippi black
reasons that the subjects for this ghastly
use will naturally be taken from tln» negro
li nks. He seems less afraid of doctors
alter they have takeu their degree, probably
because'lie feels that they will practice
enough while students to render them
proficient without the need of further
experiment. Lest my northern readers
suspect me of exaggeration, I will
tell them what happened in this very
town of Grenada. It chanced that one of
the numerous companies of Spanish stu-
dents who have delighted us with the sweet-
ness of their mandolins and the gravitv of
their bows, were unexpectedly detained by
a railway accident, and obliged to pass the
night in this place. Wisely concluding to
make the best of the mishap, the leader de-
cided to give a concert. At the first news of
the entertainment the negroes, as usual,
were wild at the prospect of seeing a show.
Very quietly, however, the terrible word
student got abroad. The effect was elec-
trical. The impression at once prevailed
that the harmless singers were a cunningly
organized band of robbers, traveling
through the South on a mission of wholesale
slaughter. The concert was onlv a device
to entrap the unwary blacks. The wildest
rumors were circulated. The terror rose to
an absolute panic. The negroes disap-
peared like magic. Big and little, old and
young, men and women, crept out of sight
and staid there until the fanaied monsters
left the town.
In considering these superstitions of the
southern negro, it is hard to draw the line
and say how far they are due to his general
condition and ignorance, and how far to his
blood. One thing, however, is certain: there
is something in liis African heredity which
gives such delusions a stronger grip on him
than they ever have on the lowest and most
ignorant whites. No man can be thrown
into contact with him without feeling that
lie has certain powerful race instincts, of
which this is one, little understood in the
North. No one who has studied these im-
pulses of his nature can hazard a reasona-
ble guess at his future, nor properly esti-
mate the problem he offers in our civiliza-
tion. In the course of Ills development,
however, these race characteristics will
play a mighty part, not only giving every
step of his progress a character of its own,
but influencing his final place iu our com-
plex civilization.
PENUE10US ROYALTY.
Kings and Emperors Who Lay Aside Nest Eggs
from the Tithes of the People.
Palis Letter to the London Truth.
Louis rhillippe was mean in the seuso
the Americans attach to the word, and had
no perception of any kind of grandeur. He.
cut down ruthlessly, to make money of
them, trees in his parks which had weath-
ered the storms of many hundred years.
His meanness was the ruin of his dynasty.
From St. Petersburg to Madrid and London
to Athens thrift now reigns. There is hardly
a sovereign who feels that the in-
come allowed to him by the nation
over which ho reigns is not for
him or her, but for the dignity of
the crown, and to act as a head waiter on na-
tional industry. The czar and czarina
themselves, colossal as their private for-
tune is, are intent on making it much
greater. Stinginess is traditional in the
house of Hohenzollern; but their civil list
allowances have never been great, and
they shrink from no duty, however hard or
irksome. They have public spirit in a high
degree and command respect. The late
King of Sweden bequeathed his only daugh-
ter the largest fortune that was ever known
of in Scandinavia, and it would have been
counted a great one the world oyer. His
father was Bernadotte, the son of a Bear-
nais lawyer of small provincial practice.
In Belgium the royal family is also a plu-
tocratic one. Although Leopold I was
fleeced by fair harpies in his old age, he
left each of his three children about a mil-
lion sterling. Yet M. Etienne Arago re-
membered when he had to go in debt for
some French embroidered muslin which he
bought to make presents to the sisters of
his (in 1816) master, the czar. Empress
Elizabeth is prodighl, and thinks she can
never spend enough on her stables and dog
kennels; but the emperor is anxious to
swell his investments and the crown prince
and princesses pare cheese. Iu Italy the
king saves to pay his father's debts, and
nobedy, therefore, complains of his thrift.
Ludwig, of Bavaria, is not of his time.
His blether, of Wurtemburg. is not per-
sonally extravagant like our James I, but
is profuse through favorites. The one now
dominating him is an American, who suc-
ceeds an American. At Lisbon the king
dowager has amassed so much as to be able
to spend millions of francs on his country
house near Cintra, and in furnishing it and
the palace where he and his amiable wife
live in winter. Maria Pia being passionate-
ly fond of dress, Horn Luis pinches in the
stables and wherever else he can. He, how-
ever, only saves out of his income. His
ministers plunder by means of frequent
loans, but he is not suspected of receiving
a share of the hauls they thus periodically
niake.     N
Soots and Branches of Slang.
San Francisco Argonaut.
Another book on Americanisms, princi-
pally political, has appeared, and our Brit-
ish cousins, having conquered the etymo-
logy of gerrymanders and half-breeds, are
now struggling with that of mugwumps.
Since the late ltichard Grant White wrote
his slashing review of Bartlett's Dictionary
of Americanisms, compilers have fought
shy of the subject, and the remarkable ex-
pressions used by Americans in modern
English novels are either evolved from the
inner consciousness of the authors, or
caught from the Cook's tourists, who make
a yearly stampede across tho Atlantic.
American slang will forever be a mystery
to foreigners. How it is used, what it
means, and, above all, who uses it, is more
than they can grasp. When such a writer
as William Black makes a charming Amer-
ican girl say, " That's the kind of a per-
simmon I aiii," it is high time to publish a
dictionary of American slang, with an ap-
pendix to show how, where and by whom it
is employed.
It is Thackeray who makes the priggish
Laura say that modern men are so afraid of
being laughed at as sentimentalists that
they have invented slang as a non-com-
mittal way of expressing themselves, even
in their most earnest moments. But Laura's
remark docs |not hold good on this side of
the water. Slang in the western States,
w here it attains its gamiest flavor, is mere-
ly exaggerated form of expression. Tho
westerner loves to be emphatic. He was
not content with the modest little adjective
" heal): " he coined a beautiful composite
word, with a hyphen, and now says " heap-
sight"—"he's a heap-sight bigger nor
you.'' The somewhat antiquated, though
still popular, "I should smile," "I should
snigger," "I should cackle," are no-
thing more than an emphatic form of
" yes," and are first cousins to "why, cer-
tainly." There is a saying current in the
Easf that when the western miner pays his
bill lie asks, with ferocious jocularity:
" Wul, what's the swindle?" which must
strike the hotel clerk as full-private J ames's
joke did the general—" if this is a joke,
lull-private James, 'tis a joke of doubtful
taste." The word "guess," used all over
the United States as "think," every one
knows to be of English extraction. Wick-
liffe employed it m his translation of the
New Testament as " think," Tvndal trans-
lated it as "weenest," Cramer as "hast
thought," and Chaucer used it in Troilus
and Cressida and other works for both
" think " and " suppose."
It was originally a Southerner who threat-
ened after the manner of gods and Titans,
to " fling a rock at your head," and then
let fly a' small pebble; but the westerner,
fascinated by the extravagance of the
phrase, promptly adopted it. Southerners
are also responsible for " you'uns " for
you. and " we'uns " for us. During the war
anoithern officer met an old woman and
asked her if she had seen any Union troops
thereabouts. "Wall," said she, chewing a
•straw and considering, " thar was some of
you'uns ov er thar 'cross the road, but some
of w e'uns come 'long, and them'uns got up
and dusted."
This is, after all. only American for nous
autres. Abbreviation of syllables reaches
its highest pitch in calling rubber shoes
" gums." as they do in Pennsylvania and
Ohio. What must have been the feeling of
the lady who, when a young couple visited
her. was answered by the husband, on in-
quiring for the wife," "Emily? Oh, she's
outside, cleaning her gums on the mat."
"Dotell" and "I want to know" are
confined to New England. " Is that so,"
a lengthened " indeed," is to the unrefined
American what " so " is to the German. It
is capable of conveying a dozen different
meanings. None but the initiated know
the amount of delicately veiled sarcasm
with which it can be infused. It is one of
those apparently harmless little phrases
that can be made to sting, it was also in
New England that "budge" was seduced
from its good old Saxon meaning and con-
verted into a synonym of "intimate."
"Budge"was never a pretty word, and
when it appeared in such a sentence as,
" She and your sister are quite budge," it
sounded more unwieldy than ever. It has
still another slang meaning—when a gen-
tleman is extremely intoxicated it is deli-
cately stiid of him that he is "full of
tudg'e."
New Jersey, besides a talent for breeding
musquitoes as big as pullets, has a little
knack of inventing unique Americanisms,
which are peculiar in that they say quite
the contrary of what they seem to' mean,
as in parts of Lancashire "cow" is slang
for "horse." When a Jerseyman says,
" What ails you at him?" he means " what
has he done to you?"—a form of words popu-
lar even among the clergy, Only lately a di-
vine cried from the pulpit, in heartrending
tones: " My brethren, what ails you at the
Lord Jesus Christ?" A New York man,
while staying in New Jersey, was asked by a
friend to'drive. At the appointed hour the
friend arrived, and, with a long face, said
sadly: "We can't go. I can't use the
wagon; I have no sword." The New Yorker
immediately suspected incipient mania,
and felt relieved that they couldn't use the
wagon. He was not aware that in New Jcr-
sev a sword means a coupling-pole.
The etymology of many Americanisms is
impossible to discover. " Boss " is taken
from the Dutch " bass," or master, and is
quite legitimate. "Boom," some clever
person says, is derived from the natural
phrase " to boom out," as applied to a ves-
sel tearing before the wind; but the origin
of " blizzard" is enveloped in obscurity,
and " bulldoze" has vanquished all tlie
etymologists in turn. Even ltichard Grant
White was worsted in a struggle to extract
its cube root.
A disciple of Max Muller proved lately
that in slang we find the same elementary
process at work which in prehistoric ages
caused man to make words by direct
adaptation of sound to sense. In this way,
he says, originated the slang French name
for an omnibus, "aie-aie," which is a close
imitation of the call by which the equipage
is hailed; " tee-liee," "for the giggle of a
school-girl; " chink," for'money, etc. He
also accounts for the hitherto unexplained
" pluck," for courage, by the somewhat far-
fetched theory that as butchers fornierly
cailed the heart, lights and liver, or the
life, of an animal " the pluck," activity and
courage became known bv the same name,
and, of course, plucky followed. " Love,"
as used in tennis and billiards to signify
nothing, is derived from a man's marrying
for love, or expecting nothing with his wife.
English slang is distinctly different from
American. Its expressions" are more easily
traced to their source, and have generally
an intelligible meaning. The now anti-
ciuated " Go to Bath," somewhat equivalent
to "Oh, get out," antedates the Norman
conquest, having originated with the retreat
of the Norwegian legions under Sweyn from
London to Bath before the conquering cock-
neys. "Lad" and "chum," originally slang
but now sanctioned by usage, are derived
from the Keltic, as are many English
terms.
Elizabeth was fond of slang, and was the
author of several expressions, some of
which still live. It was in her reign that
" His room is better than his company "
was first used. Later, Burke, who had a
fancy for coining phrases, said of William
Pitt, that he was a chip of the old block,"
which was considered so neat that it was
universally adopted. Chesterfield enjoyed
a smart slang phrase. He describes some-
where the extravagant use of the word
" vastly," which was as great a conversa-
tion hack in his day as " awfully " is iu
ours,
once sni
A gushing thing of his acquaintance
id to him iu speaking of a snuff-
box: "Indeed, I was vastly pleased, for.it
was a vastly great compliment to receive
such a vastly little snuff-box."
Chesterfield was also present at the birth
of the word "flirtation," which,'like Mi-
nerva, sprang full-grown from the brain of
the pretty wit, Lady Fiwuces Shirley, aud
was immediately snapped up as something
quite delicious by Collev Cibber. It was
some time before his day that the word
" lady " was used among the middle classes
to designateja morganatic wife. The Irish
bishop's wire, who upbraided a tradesman
for not promptly attending to her orders,
which was not showing proper deference to
her—" the bishop's lady "—was shocked
by the reply: "Madam, it would have been
the same if you had been the bishop's
wife."
Of the hundreds of slang phrases current
in the United States, not one-third have any
definite meaning, or can be traced to a pro-
bable source. A sample is "chestnut."
Who cau give the evolution or exact mean-
ing of " chestnut? " The word is, appa-
rently, perfectly meaningless. Yet, with
the select few who understand it, it seems
to carry weight. Witness the two actresses
arrested the other day, one of whom ob-
served to the other that she was going to
marry a millionaire. The other, jealous,
answered, scornfully: "Oh, chestnut,"
whereat the prospective possessor of mil-
lions fell on her and beat her full sore. All
for one small "chestnut."
Mexican Items.
The Two Republics says:
Complaint is made that Mayor Vicente
Villada, of Guadalupe, lias not enough
policemen there to take care of the many
drunkards who swarm the streets of that
holy city. By hundreds they flock to the
sanctuary and afterwards to the pulque
stands, where they soon become unbearably
boisterous and insolent through drink.
During the year 1885, 3J»,355 persons en-
tered the city peuitentiury of Beleni. Of
these, 'JM.507 were consigned from those
gloomy cells to the federal district authori-
ties for punishment, aud 10,828 to the lower
criminal courts.
An artesian well is being drilled iu the
PaseoNuevoin Pucbla for the purpose of
irrigating the gardens of that picturesque
resort.
On the night of December ill the stage
coach running from lrapuato to Piedad,
Guanajuata, was held up " when six
miles out of lrapuato. The highwaymen
stripped the passengers of all their clothing
and carried oft the baggage besides. As
there was a young lady. Miss Esther Pesado,
among the number, the other passengers
got on the top of the coach—after the rob-
bers left—while she rode inside, and the
party thus drove on to the first station
where clothing could be had.
Interesting details have been received on
the late truce-party, which entered the
Yaqui country to make peace proposals.
The party consisted of Nicanor Ortiz,"
Nieves E. Acosta and ReV. Garcia Galde-
ano, a priest much venerated by the Yaquis.
These gentlemen returned to Guaymas on
the 15tn of December. They represented
Cajeme as quite inclined to make a treaty
of peace, on certain conditions, with the
Mexican government. As soon as the party
entered the territory of the hostiles their
coach was covered by a number of repeat-
ing rifles in the hands of the scouts of the
enemy, who called on them to surrender.
Father Galdeano put his head out of the
coach window, and as soon as the Indians re-
cognized liini every rifle dropped, tin-hats
went off and the Indians knelt in respect.
Hie priest and his companions were escorted
to the presence of Cajeme, whom tjiey
found surrounded by 8000 well-armed In-
dians. They were hospitably treated, and
on the next day held a conference with Ca-
jeme iu the presence of lOOO.infantry and
WO cavalry, all belonging to the Indian
army. Cajeme was dressed in a navy-blue
riding jacket and pantaloons and Welling-
ton boots, and his rather martial face was
shadowed by a broad black sombrero. Ho
carried a splendid sword and altogether
made a creditable military appearance.
The chief made the following proposals to
the Mexican government through its com-
missioners: I. The tribes to submit to the
government absolutely. Guarantees to
be given for their persons, families and
„ - . , That
tliem with leniency.
Mr. llelaman Pratt, who has been in the
country about- two years, is a prominent
Moimoil from Salt Lake City, and is here
for the purpose trying to secure some land
in Mexico for Mormon colonists.
Having failed to secure'lands in Sonora
and Chihuahua, he is now making inquiries
al out a tract on the Concha river, in the
state of Chihuahua which six years ago
was offered to the Mormons at .Salt Lake.
The transaction fell through at that time
because the governor of Chihuahua refused
to allow Mormons to settle iu the State,
this property is about 100,000 acres iu ex-
tent. and has several improvements, such
as mills, etc.
Among the other offers of land made by
the general government to the Mormons,
was a strip of land on the Yaqui river. The
terms on which this land was offered are
said to have been those of successful occu-
pancy. The banks of the river swarm with
the war-like Yaquis, and if the Mormons
could dislodge and conquer them, tlie land
could be theirs.
The Two Republics remarks: If the Mexi-
can government should encourage the colo-
nizing of lands by Mormon settlers it would
soon be beset by even a greater danger than
that with which the United States govern-
ment has bad to cope. It is very doubtful
if the native Mexicans with which the Mor-
mon settlers would come iu contact on this
side of the Rio Grande would not prove
quite liable to succomb to the persuasive
tactics of Mormon missionaries aud would
not sweli the ranks of the Mormon church,
which is the source of immense
power and wealth for a small
ring of alleged saints who are adepts
at working upon tlie minds of the sim-
ple, credulous and ignorant, for their own
advantage. The result would be a far more
rapid growth and spread o£ Mormonjsm
than'lias been experienced in tlie United
States, and fresh difficulties in tho way of
bringing this great nation into line with the
progress of the age. What this country
needs most are independent,energetic men,
not fanatics, and least of all fanatics band-
ed together for the purpose of defying and
destroying the basis of modern society, the
monog'ainic family. The Mormon agents
now in the city should meet with no en-
couragement in their colonization schemes.
La Scmana Mcrcantil reviews last
month's business as follows: The condi-
tion of trade has undergone a slight change
for the better during the closing month of
the year. There was quite a movement in
imported fabrics and clothing, and dealers
in that line and in luxury branches report a
fair amount of trade during the holiday
season, but in groceries and domestic pro-
duce no transactions of importance have
been heard of. Trade in the necessities of
life has been dull.
The weather has not been favorable to the
harvesting of the new coffee crop. The ar-
rivals in Cordoba and other centers have
been small inconsequence, and greater pur-
chases have been impossible. This does
not. of necessity, indicate a short crop, but
only a backwardness which may prove
beneficial in the end. The present price of
,f8 50 for superior grades ie sure to rise, as
the high rate of exchange and the deprecia-
tion of Mexican money in foreign markets
has made the exportation of coffee to the
United States and England quite desirable
l'or the purpose of liquidation.
The value of tlie Mexican dollar is again
on the rise, probably in consequenco of the
French government's authority to expend
75,000,000 francs in Tonquin, which means
the purchase of Mexican dollars to that
amount.
The year just passed has been the most
trying period for business we can remem-
ber for a long time past. However, wo
think we may congratulate ourselves that
the crisis—the paralization of trade and the
general depression—have been borne by
our merchants without injury to their per-
sonal reputation or to the general com-
mercial credit of tlie country.
The periodical with the largest circula-
tion in Great Britain is Lloyd's Weekly—
050,000 per week.
Nothing can rival St. Jacobs Oil iu curing
rheumatism-and all other p$iu. 50 cents.
SOUTHERN
ATLANTIC
Al STAR J
HOURS
TEXAS TO NE
ARRIVING HOURS IN AD
DAILY
Between SAN ANTONIO, DENISO
Making close and reliable connections In
points EAST and NORTH. The Direct Lime
CO, ABIZONA and CALIFORNIA.
PULLMAN PALACE BUFFET 8LEE
QUICK TIME, LOW RATES.
For NEW ORLEANS, 6.45 p. m. For the
A. C. HUTCHINSON,
Gen. Manager, New Orleans, La.
66
2
STILL IN
Li U11 IU
EQUALLED BY FEW!
P. J. WILL
SOLE
TEXAS EXPRESS OOUVART.
RevM Run on Mhl^meoti of Fifty Pouata mni
Under when th« Value Dom Not Bxreei
Klftr Dollar*.
[Shippers are requested to mark the value o i
packaged, aud when possible to eivn local adireji
(street and number) to facilitate delivery ]
From Galveston
| •§ ■§
i § 11 i
i a & s
Abilene  45 60
Albany 40 SO
Allen K »5
Alexander,Tex.. 3.' >
Alexandria, La. 45 (j
Atvarado 36 I
Alvin 25 i
Athens....
AUenrarm...
Annona.
Atlanta...
A rliTEton
Austin 
I
b 40!
Atlanta Ga 4570
Baewell 40j55
Baird 
Dansett'u 
Bell's 
Bellvllle 
Belton 
Bennett's 
Baton Rouge,La
Belden 
Bertram 
Bljt Springs. .
Bonham 
Boyce, La.. ..
Brtniond 
Brenham 
Brjan 
Blossom Prairie
Burton 
Burnett 
Bunkie 
Blum 
Brovrnsbero 
Buckholti! 
Brookston 
Buffalo 
Blnningh'mAlnl
Bristol, Tenn...
Boston, Mass..
Baltimore, Md..
Big Sandy  
Cjivert  
Cr"wlev 
Caldwell 
Cameron 
Carbon 
Cedar Hill ...
Cltco ....
Cors'.cana 
College 
Courtney 
Corpus Chilsti
Crockett 
Colorado 
CoUlncville...
Cleburne ...
Clifton 
C perns Cove.
Columbus, Miss
ClorKHVille 
Cotulla 
Crawford 
I lear Lake '
ChancyviUe, La
Corley 
Cookville 
<uero 
Cairo, 111 
Clovetdale, Va
Cincinnati, O..
Chicago, Ills 
Charleston,B.C.
Dallas 
Hawson 
De Li'on 
Davenport 
Denison 
Devine 
Denton 
Don'dsonv'e,La.
Dublin 
DeKalb ....
Dodd City .
Dodge 
Dupre 
Detroit, Mich...
Eastland 
Edna 
Elgin 
Elkhart 
El PaBO 
Elmo 
Encmal  
Ennls 
Ferris..
Korney 
Fort Worth 
Franklin 
Garrett 
GateBville 
Gause 
Georgetown 
GJdding
Gilmer... '85:45
Gladewater 135 50'
Groesbeck 130 86
nreenwood, I.s '40;Sf'
Grand Cane.La. 45 50
Grand Saline..J4050
G.rdon  40 50
Gloster, La  40 55
Grapeland. .. J-30 3V
HallviUe 35 50
It earns  85 35
Hempstead 2526
Henderson |85 45
Handiey  I4050
Hewkina '35 50
Hridenhelmer.. 30 35
Hones Grove..X050
Hubbard City. .13545
Hockley  2525
Hico  35 45
Houston '25 25
Howe 
HuntBville.
Hutching..
Hutto 
Hunter 
Huntrerford
851 05
101 45 1 50
05 1 25 1 40
901 .0 I 15
05; 1 35 1 40
50, 55 K
G6I 75 90
&5|1 5il! 1 es
05(1 35 1 <0
Ml 10 l 15
901 10il 15
70 80
751 90
45; 50
85 40
1 40
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1 50
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50
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55
65
1 10 1 45
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801 10
1 15
65 70
65 60
60 55
60 65
65 70i
60 55'
25' 86;
55 60!
80 85
60 65!
55, 60;
56 60
40 45
90 1 25:1
601 65
55 60!
55 CO
55l 60i
80[ 351
40! 45
65 70!
65! co;
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55 «'
65! 70
55i 6'1
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30^ 85
30 35
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30 85
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50' 55
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60 65
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751 10
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951 1511-
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55 60,
65! 60:
15 50:
35 35
30i 35;
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75 80
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50 55
45: 50
45 50
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65 70
40 45
25. 25 mj. ovi 0,1, i>,
75 80 9a;t 0511 50:1 75 2 00
55 001 K; 70l 90:1 101 15
00 G5j 70. 9J1 101 15
CO) 05 70! 901 101 n
. 00:1 15:1 30!1 60 2 00!J 25
i 1 75 1 !>i2 20J3 8";3 4)8 75
11 OOll 25:1 502 00:2 5:> ! 75
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65! 60: 05 80 1 00 1 00
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00 65 70 901 101 15
00 €5 75 I 001 JO 1 25
00 70 80 1 051 35140
551 00( 05! 75 1 001 30 1 25
00 05 75i 901 10 1 43 1 50
50 55j 60| 65 801 Ofi 1 00
I 101 4M 5U
1 05 1 851 10
60: 5 'J 06
-, - 80,1,00 1 00
I 25 1 60 2 00 J 75 3 5014 00
PACIFIC CO.
201 so
601 85
501 75
851 05
en B5
55 60
34 40
85 40
50; 55
65
55 00
60 05
45) 50
160
2D 85
35 45
35140!
35'50
30,-i5:
wsr.j
.35-45
45 70|
Hntfprings.Ark
Iredell 
Indianap'Iia.lnd
Jacksonville.... t
Jefferson •
Jewett.
Jouesville 
Joehua ...
Kaufman '
Kemp 
Kilgore 
Kildnre 
KiUeen 
Kempner <
Kerens 
Kenney 
Kopperl 
Kosse 
Kyle  ,
Kansas CHy, Mo!45 70
I.edbetter !2£:20j
Laredo 
Leacder 
Lutpasas...
Ltterty Hill..
Ltndale 
Lodi 
Longview . ..
Lovelady. ...
Lytle 
Lyona 
Little Rock. Ark
LynchbufK, Va
Loutavi le, Ky
M alak off 
Manchaca ....
25 50:
35 40;
85.501
35:45
40'50
3546
25:35
10501
2530
65
30 30'
50 65
55! 00
55 6'J
40 4-5
55 60
50 55!
30 301
50 65
25 25
55 C0|
35 40j
50 55|
45 50:
55 o0
40 45
75 80
50 55
901 001
451 50
55 60
45! 50
55 6n
50! 55
55 60
55 60
45 50
55 60
45 50
45! 50
55 80
50 55
80 901
80 85
65 70
65 60
UiO
0511 85
65; 75
55; 65 75
65 75 90
10 2 75 3 00
00 1 JO 1 25
85 1 06 1 75
75: 90 1 00
73! 901 00
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901 00
90 1 00
1 001 00
901 00
1 01 1 00
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80:1 00 1 00
90! 1 101 15
65| 75 90
00:1 20 1 25
25 1 50 1 66
00 1 20 1 25
00 1 30 1 25
10U 451 50
65, 75 90
90 1 10 1 15
65! 60 75
40 45 50
80:1 00 1 00
00 1 20 1 25
90:1 101 15
65 75 90
OS 1 35 1 40
80 1 00 1 00
\u
SYSTEM.
ND CRESCENT
FEOM
W YORK CITY'
VANCE Ol RIVAL LINES.
T B A I N" S
N, HOUSTON & NEW ORLEANS, i
the Crescent City with lines tllversclne for all
for ALL POIMTS in OLD MEXICO, NEW MEXI-
FEKS ON ATX PASSENGER TRAINS.
TRAINS LEAVE HOUSTON.
WEST (California Express), 9.40 a. in.
T. W. PEIRCE, Jr..
G. P. A., Houstou, Tel.
66
2
THE LEAD.
EXCELLED BY NONE I
IS <fe BRO.,
-A-GKEISTTS.
Mansfield, La... 45:60:
Manor  S0i35
Marlin  30 35
Marienfeld  4670:
Marshall 30'SO
Marthaville, La. 45 60
McDade 25|35
McKinney  85 45
McGregor  30 35
Merkel  45 60
Meridian  35 40
Midlothian 35 15
Jiellssa  30 50
Mesquite 40150
Mexla  30 35
Morjran 35(40
Midland 45 70
Mlllsapp  40 50
Mlneola  35 45,
MUllean  25 30
Jt! llano  25 351
Merlolan, Miss. 45 601
Monahaus  1570
Moody  30 85|
Montgomery.... 2630;
Moore's  1050!
Morris  35 50!
Mt. Calm  36 45!
Mt. Pleasant... 3o4c
Memphis, Tenn. 45 70
Mobile, Ala  40 55!
MtntRomery.A. <5 65!
Marquez 35.40:
Kavasota  25 30;
New Braunfels. 30 50,
New Boston...,|40 55j
New Orleans.. ...!36:45|
New Baden— :35i40j
Heches !35 4.'!;
New York  :15'70,
Nashville, Tenn 45'70!
Oak woods ;35 40;
Overton !15 40;
Palestine .30 35
Paiee .25 36
Palintr ! 35,41«
Paris i40|5f»|
Pecos  45 70
Pearsall  10 5;!
Pittsburg  35 45:
Pittsburg, Pa... 15 70!
Pilot Point 140 50!
Pleasant Hill La 15 Wj
Tlaquemiue, L« tt)
La .
PlantOTBvHlo....
Pendlfton 
PWlftriiiphi*, P*
Peiiearcola, Fla..
Putnam ... ....HOW
Plan-.... 45;
Queeb City... 7>n;
H-^OKOr '50 S5;
Bacger .MOW;
Iloacrke........ 35 50'
Rook dale...'. .'..'30 35
Rcbil#»np, La...!t5!00
Rice, Tel  55 10
Kiohninr ci 25 .'5
Richard-en i-'I'S
BiveroMe 2525
Bogeis...  I30 35
flofenberR ;i5;26
Richland '3540
Round Bock |85jl0
Richmond, Va..|15j751
Roanoke, va...|15 75l
Raleigh, N.C...|45 75!
8nn Antonio....=35 50
San Marcos.... ^35 50,
Pavoy 10; M)
Sealy   25 25
Htiorman 35|50|
Hirevoport, La. 40;50,
8odu8. La 45 60
Somerville 25 30
Sparta 10 *0
Strawn 10 50
Sweetwater.... 45,00;
Htonewall, La.. 40 55;
Sutton '25j85!
c^ioux City, la.. 45 '51
t*alen\ Va 45 751
Savannah, Ga.. 45 70
651
40
40!
00!
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50:
40:
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45,
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25 351
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fiprinpr..
Taylor 
Temple....
Terrell  
Toyab 
Thompson 
Thornton 
Tborndole 
Trinity 
Troupe 
Tyler  !35
Texarfcana, Ark if-
Tucker j35
Toledo, 0 4?
Van Al8tyne. ..'35:50
Vai herie .. .'-15|00
Valley Mills.... 05-10
Victoria 30; 3*
Vicksburg, Miss 4?
Waco..... '30 35
Wallis ;*25 25
Waverley {25125
Warren 30,'35
Wellborn 25'30
Wharton 30'V
Waxabacbie.... 3545
Waskom  40 5C
Wtatherford.. .40150
Walnut 8prin£s 35 451
Wooton Sta.... 25;'5E
Whitney 
Wortbem 
Williri 
Wills Point 
Whitesboro —
Winona 
Washi'gton.D. C
X« nia, O 
Yarborough...
Yellow Prairie
Ysleta 
Youngstown, O
Zaneaville, O.
30 3f
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For rates on money ao-3 Hpeciai rates on Cr^tKhi.
apply at the company's ortHoe, corner Treoiout &nd
avenue A.
Galveston. July in, 18Sb.
MS. Broil Hardware Go.
GALVESTON, TEXAS.
OFFER AX UNUSUALLY LARGE AND WELL
SELECTED STOCK OB"
WAGON & BUGGY HARNESS
PLOW BRIDLES, HAMES,
Collars,Trace Chains
BACK BAlsTIDB.
Steel Plow Shapes, Hoes, Etc
ALL IN
Seasonable Demand and at Greatly
• Reduced Prioes,
AltTlCl.E-i ON ALL THE LEADING TOPICS
ol the day are to be found In the ooluasn*
of The Galveston News ;